Reuters, Aug. 6, 2002
http://news1.iwon.com/odd/
Reuters, Aug 6, 9:26 am ET
LONDON (Reuters) – British beer lovers have enlisted the support of a Sumerian goddess in their efforts to shake off the masculine image of their favorite tipple.
Fed up with the drink’s beer bellied image, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) said on Tuesday it had adopted the goddess Ninkasi — said to have created a recipe for beer 4,000 years ago — as patron in a bid to attract more women to the pumps.
“We think real British beer is something to be proud of and it should be marketed to women as well as men,” said Camra’s Mike Benner.
[…]
Ninkasi, worshipped by one of the world’s earliest civilizations in what is now Iraq in around 3500 BC, is thought to be one of the early brewers of beer.
She was worshipped by both men and women at a time when ale was made and served exclusively by women.
Camra decided to adopt the cult after its research revealed that less than a quarter of British women had tried real cask ale in a pub, Benner said.
[…]
The annual Great British Beer Festival is on at London’s Olympia from Tuesday to Saturday. Some 45,000 beer lovers are expected to attend.